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We have the baby toilet seat, the little plastic potty, panties, and lots of towels for accidents. It’s all ready after Kathleen gave several clear signs that she waned to start using the potty. Everything is ready and…now she hates it.

Sigh.

Oh, well, at least we’ll be ready the nanosecond she starts being interested in it again.

In her defense, she’s not even quite a year and a half. But for a week there she would throw a royal fit if she didn’t get to try the potty BEFORE mommy. Every time. It’s a really good thing I come from a long line of women with amazing bladder control. lol

Alright, we’re going to go enjoy summer by hunting down the illusive Ham-Burger-Thing. Perhaps with a Shookten Milk with it. 😉

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That’s it for me today.

Myhusband is also behind the times with his post this week, and perhaps ReGiwill have time for one (but she’s balancing more plates than me, so she’s got a free pass a time or two a month), so check backHEREthis evening and there should be another post or two.

You know how last week I thought there was a cold coming my direction?

I was wrong.

It was a flu.

Too much fever and body aches to be a cold.

Sleeping Kathleen – a few days before we came down with this crud.

Kathleen is actually not doing too bad with this. I only had to wipe her nose for a couple of days, she spikes a mild fever once or twice a day, and has developed only a touch of a cough. For the most part she’s still tearing around the house at the same speed. She really thrilled our female lab this afternoon when she decided to devote an hour to pulling little handfulls of kibble out of the dog food bag and feeding it to her. Of course, this was while Kathleen was also enjoying the fruits of her labor, eating probably 4 or 5 pieces herself. (It’s high quality, American made stuff that the dogs have been on for years, so I’m not worried about a few pieces here and there. lol)

Her father and I, on the other hand, are trying to decide if we need to email someone our final wishes. It’s been just over a week for him, and just under one for me, so obviously…we’re going to die.

Seriously, though, it’s miserable at times, but…yeah, I got nothin’.

We will recover. (Have to. I don’t have near enough life insurance on him yet. 😉 )

And when we do I really hope we’ll have a couple days in the 60 degree area so I can air this house out, then go for a walk.

Oh! Speaking of walking. Kathleen walked across the dining room this evening!!! She took her daddy a couple pieces of dog food. lol Twelve feet! And she didn’t pause, squat, or brace herself on anything. It was slow going, but she made it. 😀

And while she was having me tell her the names of body parts she interrupted me by pointing to her knee and saying “Knee.” Then she pointed to mine and said it again.

I’ve been having little flashbacks to the nerve wracking meeting with her NICU Neurologist where we were told that there was no evidence of oxygen deprivation brain damage, but they couldn’t rule out developmental delays, and warned that there was a good chance she would need monitoring over the next couple years.

My puffy little morphined up baby on the morning of her 7th day of life.

I think that’s partly why I’m always so over the moon when she does these little things that prove she’s right on track.

We have been very blessed. She makes us laugh at least a couple times a day, and reminds us to not take ourselves too seriously. How can you when your little one is handing you an old flip phone fully expecting you to converse with her imaginary caller? 😀

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For Mirth and Music Monday I thought I would use a Veggie Tales song about sneezing. Because, let’s face it, I’ve been getting a lot of practice.

What I hate, is when you get one of those sneezes that just hangs out in your sinuses for what feels like ages. Your head itches and your nose twitches; your eyes water and feel like they’re crossed. It’s miserable!

And just as you’re wondering if it has decided not to happen, so you set the box of tissues back down, it rushes out in a blaze of…um, well, not glory. 😉

Does it count as complaining if I couch this in comedy as a cautionary tale?

I hope not.

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Ok, so Wednesday night, I decided after seeing stuff about Lent on Facebook that this year might be a good one to participate again. I couldn’t, however, think of anything practical to give up, so it went to the way-side. Last night, a day late, I came across more stuff about Lent, and then some inspirational stuff about stopping complaining and trying to view the positive and be thankful for it.

Well, after getting the idea in my head I liked it.

It might have helped if I’d concentrated on the right end of that idea, though.

So last night I set myself up for success by staying up even later than normal. Genus, right?

This morning came far too fast when Kathleen woke up an hour earlier than usual.

Then we had a present from a dog on the kitchen floor. Eew!

Things went normally for a bit as I did my little morning routine while baby watched Kipper, then I got a bowl of cereal. That’s when she decided it was imperative that she be held…Right Now!

No can do, Pumpkin, I have my hands full with the need for fuel. So she wore down my patience with heartbreaking cries between kisses and momentary distractions of shiny toys. I, not the fastest eater in the world due to a tummy that does not take kindly to it, did my best to wolf down my food.

After changing her diaper we head for bed again, where she naps for an hour, two hours early.

She wakes up and we exit the bedroom heading for her changing table…

And encounter a very proud of himself Labrador finishing off the nose of her changing table teddy.

Can this day get any more fun?

Yes. Yes, it can.

I go to microwave some leftovers for an early lunch and the breaker for the kitchen goes. So, I go to find Lonnie and tell him what kind of day I’m having. He goes and flips the breaker back on and holds Kathleen while I get started eating.

Uh, so that’s been the day so far. I spent the entire time looking for things to Not complain about. See the problem?

Now, what could this day have gone like if I’d been concentrating on the second half of the saying? What if I had been looking for the positive? The things to be thankful for?

Well, for starters, we all woke up this morning. No one came down with a surprise cold. Baby’s diaper didn’t overflow. See? A whole list of things before even getting out of bed.

I could have been thankful Lonnie remembered to get the trash out the night before, so there wasn’t much for him to clean up.

We had cereal and milk for me to eat.

When I got her to bed Kathleen fell asleep quickly and solidly, which allowed me to take a bit of a nap, too.

After waking up, she eliminated quickly, so I was able to clean it up with only one wipe.

The dog, while oh so proud of his taking out of the evil stuffed animal, did not argue with me when I took the poor thing away from him. And he hadn’t had time to do more damage than removing the nose. It will take a bit of work to fix it, but it is salvageable and still cute.

When I told Lonnie about the blown breaker he didn’t complain or procrastinate. He put aside what he was doing and fixed the problem. Then he held and entertained the baby while I ate the bulk of my food. And, now, rather than going back to his project, he’s hanging out with us, watching silly sci-fi stuff helping corral baby so I can get this blog post out.

See? If I’d looked at the day (as I will now be viewing the rest of Lent) in that light I probably wouldn’t have ended up in a foul mood. Thankfully it was temporary, because I thought about this blog and all of you, and the fact that it might entertain and possible enlighten someone.

This first video very much reminds me of trying to get baby into her car seat right now. She hates being strapped in, but then will sit contentedly watching me run around like an idiot for another ten minutes getting things that I’d just then realized needed to go with us.

This week’s music is pretty cool. The words are at the bottom left, but what you’re really going to want to watch is the ticker to the right beside the photo of the banjo player. That’s keeping track of how many times he’s picked a string. It’s mind boggling.

That’s it for Mirth and Music Monday. If you would like to see this week’s other participating bloggers clickHERE. That link is also where you can input your post if you should wish to join us. Monday is pretty much over, but there’s always next week! 😀

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Baby update!

This kid is going to drive us happily up a wall. She’s too smart! This morning she wanted to get out of bed and get the day started without the usual cuddle time so she pulled the covers off my shoulders and yanked on the pillow. Yesterday she pulled the covers off and handed me my shirt after our morning nap.

She’s getting a lot better at toddling around with a hand brushing along the side of the table or something. Oh, and she’s taller than the underside of our dinning room table, so she has to duck to get under it.

Her favorite thing to do right now is throw everything out of her playpen. Preferably at a dog. She has surprising aim for being my kid. I’m starting to feel sorry for our dogs, though. (But just a little. lol)

This afternoon we had the dogs in the back pen and let in one of the two porch cats (the female was out hunting), and Kathleen had a blast trying to keep up with him as he toured the house. She only has the living and dining room to explore, so he often escaped when she got too excited.

Her favorite foods right now are strawberry banana yogurt and turkey bacon.

At her 1 year check up her Pediatrician said that if he didn’t know better the tiny murmur inher heartwould have just sounded like turbulence. Everything is A-OK, and she is growing like a weed; 1/4 inch under 30 inches, and 1 ounce under 19 pounds.

This has been a strange, unfortunate, entertaining week for the D’Andrea family.

We all had different reactions to the cold we caught, the laundry room froze so we need to do a minor (hard to get to) repair on the washer before we can resume laundry (cloth diapering has, of course, been put on hold for the past week), and baby has been a source of almost equal frustration and joy.

Throwing and watching things fall has been her latest fascination. If she’s not throwing it, she’s knocking it off the table so she can enjoy the drop and clatter. Last night I let her go until she didn’t have any toys left in her pen, then put her plate of steak and potatoes in with her. None of that got thrown around, that’s for sure. lol

She’s also enjoying standing on her little dump truck in her pen, the pillows on the bed, or in the chair beside me. Anything where she thinks she is getting a better reach to get to people or things. It’s both entertaining and exhausting. I don’t know how many times I reassure her that the most recent tumble wasn’t that bad, or kiss away sobs when she actually does land hard.

Canine teeth seem to be starting to rise, so she’s chewing a little again. Not sure when her molars are going to make an appearance, but they’re due any time in the next couple months. Thank goodness for gripe water and infant Motrin.

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For Mirth and Music Monday I found this cute little animation for you.

That’s it for me this week. I’ve got a cranky teether with a yucky nose who thinks she needs a nap or something. I don’t know. She’s not too sure, either. But, really, aren’t we all just winging this monster responsibility they call Motherhood?

For more Mirth and Music Monday, or to add your own post to the list, click HERE.

Kathleen is suffering through her first cold. She’s mostly still her happy self, but when her sinuses plug up it’s hard on her, and when it’s time for sleep everything else had better stop, because she is just done.

My husband, Lonnie (who blogshere), and I seem to be keeping it at arms length, but it’s probably only a matter of time before it breaks through the magical spell of the super chicken soup and wreaks even more havoc on the household.

But, we won’t dwell on that, because it’s Monday, therefore time for Mirth and Music Monday.

(I have to give a huge thank you toReGi McClainfor taking care of thelinkythese last 2 weeks. My brain seems to have taken this Christmas break thing a little too far.)

We survived Christmas Eve, which was the day my family decided to hold our Christmas celebrations this year, making room for time with in-laws.

Baby Kathleen got some new clothes, including socks and tights! Thanks, Mom! 😀

She also got a dump truck with shapes and a removable driver. It’s in the playpen with her right now, keeping her thoroughly occupied. Also received were books, hats, and just enough money to start a children’s savings account for her.

I was given a gift card to a cool restaurant, a scarf/hood, a coloring book, plans for a fun day out, a set of decorative serving bowls and most likely a few other gifts which I can’t remember this early in the morning. I know Lonnie got some interesting gifts, too. Nothing expensive, but everything was very well thought out and wonderful. 🙂

So now we have the entire day waiting for us to do nothing but eat and loaf around. I may get to play some Wizard101, and play in my coloring book. That is if Kathleen will let me have a couple brain cells to myself. She’s been very clingy these last few weeks. I’m hoping this is molars coming through, and not just a difficult phase. Of course judging by the ear pulling and chewing on everything it’s pretty clear it is teeth.

Everyone seemed to have fun, though, and for that I am very thankful.

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Even our dogs are having a treat this holiday season. The store was out of their usual food, so they were purchased a case of wet food. Wow, that stuff gets gobbled fast. lol

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Well, I’d better get back to my eating. This morning it’s a 4 egg scramble with hashbrowns, peas, and black beans on the side. Kathleen is enjoying the occasional chunk of the egg concoction.

I’m hoping to get her started on a daily fruit and yogurt smoothie, so hopefully I can put a couple pounds back on in preparation for starting a sibling.

Eventually. Hopefully we can get a little more income flowing soon so we can more easily afford the next round of visits to the midwives.

On that note, I need to find ways to make a little more income (as in on the fun side of the decimal line?) from my meddlings on the internet. That may mean some minor tweaks to this site. Don’t worry, it won’t be obtrusive, or annoying. I have a very long list of pet peeves that relate to for-profit blogs.

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Uh, oh. We seem to have butted up to a nap time. Time for me to sign off.

This video also reminds me of the wonder I see in my baby girl’s eyes when she figures something out, or is introduced to a new thing. Just this afternoon she lit up over her and Lonnie taking turns drumming on his tummy.

She’s got a good sense of rhythm; any kind of a beat and she’s bopping along. Makes me smile. 🙂

Here’s my little stinkbug in her make-shift high chair

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That’s what I have for this Mirth and Music Monday, click HERE to see who else is participating this week.

Little Details

Stealing Makes Bad Ju-Ju!

We all know that everything I write is Amazing and Awesome. I get informed of that fact several times a day by my second personality.
Just remember that what I have written here is Mine. I hate to go all two-year-old on you, but that's my hard work and it's staying mine.

Now if you see something on here that's just cooler than eskimo snot, and you just Have to use it somewhere in your life, please let me know and I'll see if we can work something out (actually, my lawyer will tell me if we can work something out).